It’s a tad late, but better late than never. I wanted to post my berry madness before I got this up. Head over to my Queens Chronicle piece about Food for the 4th. Really, it’s good food all summer long, so it’s still worth a glance. Cheese filled burgers, cucumber coolers and easy fruit ices await you…
Dare I say I’ve gone strawberry crazy?
I am quite happy to inform folks that I have bushels of strawberries in my possession. I excitedly contemplated all the delicious things to make: wine, jam, ice cream, scones, lemonade… As I thought, I realized I was quickly eating through my stash. So sweet in their natural state, I started thinking, Applying them to a dish would be sacrilegious! (They do much better in my belly unadulterated.)
The more sensible part of me methodically began pulling stems and lining the berries on a baking sheet to freeze, then bag for a future use (as there was no way all could be eaten before spoiling). As I lined a cookie sheet with strawberries I realized how nicely uniform so many of them were. In fact, they appeared to be a perfect little army dressed for strawberry battle in some distant fruit land– perhaps protecting Strawberry Shortcake (the cartoon or the dessert)? Each berry was outfitted with a gnome-like cap. (How adorable.)
As I admired my infantry, the Giant of Terror in the Land of Berries approached. Oooo, strawberries! D exclaimed as his colossal hand reached into my helpless army patch and snatched up soldiers. One after another he ate my freshly stemmed friends. “Stop eating my strawberry army!”
“Uhhhh… Your what?”
“Nothing… They’re just my strawberry army. You can’t eat them, eat these.” I shoved over the random piling of discarded strawberries sprawled on the counter, not perfect enough to join my forces.
So now sits a bag of berries marked “not for giants” awaiting recipes in the freezer. If I can rein myself in they will be saved for a blistery day in late December. While I ponder future berry times I’ll whip up an occasional strawberry smoothie: 2 parts frozen berries, 1 part heavy cream. It is the purest and sweetest milk shake I ever had.
Strawberry Smoothie
Serves 2
1.5 cups fresh frozen strawberries
3/4 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)
Method: Place ll ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth. Add more heavy cream to thin out if necessary.
If you can still find some fresh berries this late in the season a favorite application was in salad. You may add or subtract from any of these ingredients.
Strawberry Salad
Serves 4-6
1 head romaine, or similar crisp lettuce, washed and separated
1 handful arugula, washed
1 bulb kohlrabi*, sliced into matchstick size cuttings
1 bunch fresh herbs (thyme, basil, parsley work well), loosely chopped
1 cup sugar snap peas, washed and stemmed
4 ounces goat cheese or fresh ricotta, crumbled
1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
mustard vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Method: Toss all prepped ingredients and serve with dressing on the side.
*Kohlrabi is an odd looking vegetable, but worth a try (it’s very high in vitamin C). The flavor is similar to cabbage, but crossed with the crispness of a perfect apple. It is a great addition raw to coleslaw or salad. Just cut off the stalk and slice (I don’t even peel mine).
Mustard Vinaigrette
This dressing will keep so make enough and store in a small glass container. Season to preferred acidic taste.
1 part whole grain mustard (Dijon makes an excellent one)
1 part lemon juice
1 part olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Method: Add all ingredients to a jar and shake just before applying to salad. (This dressing is great over fish like halibut or salmon.)
NOTE: This strawberry salad recipe was entered into Healthy Cooking’s recipe event, because hey, what’s more healthy than fresh ingredients? No substitutes needed!
It has been forever…
The New York City school year wrapped up this week and I’ve been busy planning a farm-to-school nutrition education program for public school 4th graders, starting in fall 2008. This project, a one-month food advocacy course, led by the local organization Just Food, a visiting 17-year old cousin from Tennessee and weeding my garden– despite D’s assurance that gardens need no work once planted, consumed my energies these past weeks. (And the beautiful weather, of course.)
Food is to come and perhaps a special appearance by D describing his new kombucha project.
In the meantime, you can see the above picture of how much the City Garden has evolved from week one and check out these interesting links below.
In the picture, corn at back, silks are already starting to show! This past week we planted beans at their base. To the left of those (off camera) are my tomatoes, basil, Brussels sprouts and D’s tobacco. Already making excellent headway. Just in front of the corn is eggplant, and mixed peppers (sweet, hot and paprika) are in front of that. Then winter squash to the right, lots of grass yet to be pulled, and the two lighter plants in the front are watermelons.
Links…
My food advocacy class provided this great link, On Day One. What do you want the new president to do on his first day in office? My favorite is linked here: turn the white house lawn into a garden, providing local food to the white house and local food pantries. You can place your vote, or submit your own, on a number of topics.
As a reaction to turning all our lawns into gardens, here’s a piece from Alternet: Turning Your Lawn into a Victory Garden Won’t Save You– Fighting Corporations Will.
A taste of what’s to come:
Homemade goat yogurt
Strawberry madness
Berry crepes
Simple Summer Appetizers
July 4th Food ideas
In elementary school we had all-school spring and winter recitals. The school music teacher challenged us with songs that often times went over our heads, and were pure enjoyment of our parents. Most notable was the Beatles, When I’m 64, where we spent weeks on definitions and proper accents of words– not exactly something a second grader is keen on. Many other songs have stuck with me, like Les Miserables’ Castle on a Cloud and Fifty Nifty, which continues to amaze friends at parties. One of my favorite songs we learned was the Garden Song (a clear vocal YouTube rendition here).
Inch by inch, row by row, Gunna make this garden grow…
As one might expect, land is precious in New York City and there is little of it to go around. When I tell people I keep a few buckets of plants in the front of my apartment they are amazed I have outdoor space for even this small project. This year, after much deliberation, D and I were lucky enough to acquire a plot at the 2-year old Two Coves Community Garden.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe, And a piece of fertile ground.
But still, there are some who cannot comprehend how dear land is in the city. In my neighborhood especially, there is little green space. A community garden is an anomaly because it takes space that could potentially be used by many (say as a park), and divides it into individual plots (unless a whole community gardens one large plot together as I have heard happens in many Detroit, MI community gardens).
Someone bless these seeds I sow, Someone warm them from below.
The plots at Two Coves are refreshingly larger than at most other community gardens, averaging about 10 ft x 10 ft (my space is about 10 ft x 15 ft; because there are 2, sometimes more, of us working it). Most other gardens I have seen are around 4 ft x 4 ft. Even so, when I told my father, who grew up in the City and understands land value here, I had a plot at a community garden, he asked if it was a 100 ft x 20 ft plot. That would be the size of an entire lot!? (That also can easily sell for a few million dollars depending on the area!) I hardly have something that size.
‘Til the rains come tumbling down…
In the past, my bucket “garden” was mostly greens that can grow in partial sun. This year it has become mostly herbs. As food production goes, it is fairly minimal. As members of a Community Supported Agriculture group, D and I grappled with questions of why we would need more vegetables. But as people who one day want to leave the City for some land and have a garden of our own, the answer eventually fell to yes, this garden would be our land of experimentation (and maybe some canning produce to bring us through the winter).
Pulling weeds and picking stones,
Of course, gardening in New York City is not like gardening in your private backyard. There are members who view the space as therapeutic alone time, while for others it is an opportunity to vocalize their garden knowledge. For better of for worse, you have the opinions, suggestions and advice of each and every gardener in your small plot of land. I love these differences of opinion and welcome everyones’ advice, pulling from it what I may to help my own plot grow stronger. Over the season, I see us forming a garden family, with each gardeners space an extension of the personality that helped grow it.
Man is made from dreams and bones… Feel the need to grow my own…
This year, D and I had a late start and I purchased most of our plants as seedlings from Silver Heights Organic Farm. Hopefully next year we will have enough produce to harvest some seeds to plant next season. We are hoping whatever does come to fruition will be enough to can or dry for supplement through the winter. We are growing:
4 sweet corn varieties
4 bean varieties (we will be planting the seeds in another week at the base of the corn)
2 tobacco varieties
3 winter squash varieties
* Note that the above 4 are known to Native Americans as the 4 Sisters. They grow in harmony with each other, replacing nitrogen in soil, used as natural coverings to keep out weeds, and as natural pest control.
4 eggplant varieties
4 pepper varieties (hot, sweet and paprika)
2 varieties of canning tomatoes
2 Brussels sprout varieties
2 watermelon varieties
1 cucumber
6 heads of bok choi
2 bushes of currants
misc herbs: basil, oregano, chives, lemon balm, catnip, summer savory, purslane, chamomile and a few others (these will be planted near partner plants to work as natural pest controls.)
Of course, in on all of this are my composting worms. Happily munching away at my food scraps to create more organic fertilizer for everything. My next goal is to convince the garden we should get some city chickens running around!
Many people I know have a funny relationship with food: they are on constant diets, yet continue to gain weight. I’m not counting people with real health problems, but those consistently obsessed with weight loss and dieting (although I suppose this could be considered a real health problem psychologically).
We are a nation obsessed with our image and one of the most obvious ways to control our look, short of surgery or buying new clothing, is to control what we ingest. The problem as I see it, is that when we stop listening to our bodies and rely on special diets, we deprive ourselves of what our bodies actually need. If you don’t have strict enough control, you end up bingeing when you are confronted with the food your body craves.
Each of us is in fact a unique individual with special needs only our bodies understand– not a diet book that can supposedly work miracles on millions. If we can stick to real foods (fruits, vegetables, grains), without too much added salts and sugars, staying away from processed goods (which just make you crave more), our bodies eventually regulate and notify us about what is required for continued function. Of course, I’m no nutritionist.
There is one woman in particular I run into every month or so on the street: oh Stacey! You look like you’re losing weight!
It may or may not be true. This greeting, or, “Wow, you’re looking great,” are two common conversation starters people like to provide when it has been a while between sightings (and continues our obsession over our bodies). Every time I see this particular woman it is the same statement, followed by, are you on a special diet? Every time I see her I provide the same secret answer.
She asks, one because it is polite I suppose, but two, because she has a litany of legitimate health problems, many of which can actually be solved if she can create a healthy relationship with food. She is looking for the secret. Sure, I tell her. I’ve been frying my eggs in leftover bacon fat. I eat pork chops, roasted chicken, yogurt, cheese and a lot of vegetables, raw or sauteed in olive oil… You know, whatever is around.
Well you must cook a lot, she counters. I make lasagna, that’s it.
Well, that’s good, I say, that you cook. But in my mind I’m reminded of weekly food calendars, with hers looking something like this: Monday, lasagna; Tuesday, lasagna; Wednesday, lasagna… In the time it takes to make lasagna for a week, could she make, say maybe some chicken? Or in even less time some fish? Or really, anything other than lasagna?
Sure I cook (not as often as most people think), but most of what I make are quick meals that take just as long as opening a can and setting the microwave– and even faster than heading to a restaurant and placing an order. If it’s a food that takes longer to prepare, I make enough for leftovers I don’t mind eating cold or which can be reheated easily on the stove top (I don’t have a microwave).
So the secret special diet is that it is not a secret at all. It’s one people generations before us followed because there was no alternative: eat foods with ingredients you can name, know where they come from, or how they are produced or grown. Avoid processed and packaged food and drink, stay away from corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and bypass the advertisements telling you to load up on sugars, starches and new “low-calorie,” “all natural” treats… And maybe one other thing: Follow the variety seasons offer.
As I ate my breakfast this morning I thought about her question and was inspired to take a picture. Was I glad I was not eating lasagna? Yes. Was I glad this meal took all of 8 minutes to prepare? Yes.
There is no recipe to this meal because by the picture I think it is pretty straight forward:
sauteed asparagus
an egg, however you like it
a piece of cheese
slice of whole grain toast with butter
some other veggies or fruit, if available
fresh herbs, if available
I love winter. Silly to say now, as we all, myself included, embrace the spring with an unrelenting hold, despite the mild rainy interruptions. Maybe it is easier to say, as it is on its way out, but I love the crisp smell of decay in the air as winter begins. I love hot chocolate, sledding, snowmen, sweaters, ice formations, and enormous fireplaces to snuggle up next to with a cup of broth. I love the first taste of root vegetables– sweeter on the east coast than the west coast because the bitter cold and vegetable’s death allows the sugars to concentrate more (take that west coast weather!). Perhaps it is because mine and D’s birthdays both fall in the dead of winter, or the stews, roasts and braises that beckon friends over and keep them long into the night because no one dares go outside.
Admittedly, I also love the spring. That first warm rain and pop of bud on the trees, the first inkling of cherry blossoms and that initial push through frost from the ground. It’s the promise of harvest all over again, springing to green.
D and I spent the winter eating from our CSA’s winter share. Pretty much root vegetables for the past 4 months– most not posted. Although I think D is convinced it was less of a winter share of mixed vegetables and more of a beet share. Needless to say we were both overjoyed at the first glimpse of green as we took a walk through the greenmarket a few weeks ago, even if it was just broccoli rabe, asparagus and scallions mixed with some cellar-over carrots and potatoes, it was pure heaven. In the past two weeks I have purchased over six bundles of asparagus, broccoli rabe and scallions and threw in one bunch of spinach I spied last week.
I once heard a chef say something to the effect that Nature got it right: when we eat by seasons we’re sure to get sick of something, but you don’t have to worry– by the time you’re tired of it, the next season comes around. When I tried to explain this to D he seemed less than pleased: “All I’m saying is you better work on your canning and preserving skills.” (Might D be a little bitter the tomatoes I canned over the summer only lasted until January?)
The above salad is the first real green salad of this year. I say real, because while I’m sure we have had a salad in a restaurant over the winter, they were few and far between and hardly compared to the freshness of this baby. You know that’s true from D’s response: “I never thought I would be so happy to eat a salad.” (Remember that one come mid-summer when D refuses to eat another salad.) We added broiled salmon on top and a few boquerones, or white Spanish anchovies and a parsley-sour cream pesto. You can add whatever protein you have, or just eat this as a side.
First Spring Greens Salad
Serving Size= 2. Active time= 15 minutes.
1 pound salmon fillet
6 boquerones (optional)
1 bunch arugula
6 radish
1 spring onion or 2 scallions
1 carrot
Parsley “Pesto”
1 large handful parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic (optional)
2 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1) Preheat broiler and sprinkle salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Broil 4-6 minutes, depending on thickness, until slightly blackened for medium-rare.
2) While salmon is broiling, wash and chop the arugula, radish, spring onion and carrot and distribute amongst two bowls.
3) Place parsley, lemon juice, sour cream and olive oil in a blender and puree until thick and evenly chopped.
4) Once salmon is finished, lay over salad, top with boquerones and add a few dollops of the parsley pesto over everything.
I’m guest blogging over at Sustainable Table. My first post is all about vermicomposting (worm composting). Truly, not as disgusting as it sounds (or looks). Since picking up my worms I have swayed many unbelievers– including D who first thought my worms totally gross and now gets extremely mad if we forget to feed them or throw something out that could be destined for the worms.
So many have changed their tune that at our last party I had a group of 8 friends standing around our worm bin asking questions and participating in a feeding (I kid you not and swear most parties do not resort to worms for entertainment or conversation).
Composting is a great solution to stamp out our dependency on synthetic fertilizers, especially petroleum-based ones. It is easy to accomplish in any space– from small scale apartments to large farms. What to do with the compost? Your houseplants and garden will love the rich compost you provide for them. Not much of a planter? Donate your harvested compost to a community garden, neighbor or friend who does plant. You’ll have a friend for life (and maybe some veggies out of the deal!).
Vermicomposting is ideal indoors in a small apartment or house. You can find these, dare I say, fashionable, cedar worm bins on ebay (my friend L has one and loves how it blends into her decor). I have a basic plastic bin with a lid I bought at a discount store for about $10. A bin that will fit under the kitchen sink is a perfect size for a small family.
There are no noticeable bad smells associated with vermicomposting. The only smell will be a sweet Earthiness, and only noticeable when the bin is open, during feeding time. You can still go on vacation when you have your worms and they are not nearly as difficult to care for as a cat, dog, or even fish!
Head over to my post on Sustainable Table: Vermicomposting 101 to read the ins and outs of vermicomposting.
Over the past few weeks I updated Sustainable Table’s Dairy pages. The research taught me a lot about the U.S. Dairy Industry and I’m happy to finally share it with you, my readers. My pages are slowly going live and I’ll post each new one as it goes up.
Thought you knew everything about milk? Think again. This first page is all about Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, or rBGH. Ponder this: We are outraged when athletes voluntarily inject themselves with performance enhancing growth hormones (we don’t drink our athletes’ milk), but the dairy industry pumps cows full of growth hormones and we guzzle the poison up, without knowledge or outrage.
The result of rBGH is that cows produce more milk, which equals the cash cow shown above (my rendering). RBGH turns dairy cattle into milk machines, wearing them down and out faster than pastured cows, it destroys cows’ health leading to a slew of horrible and painful conditions, leading to a regiment of antibiotics and more. And humans? Increased risk of cancers.
Can it get worse? Of course. Monsanto, producer of Posilac, the number one selling rBGH, is fighting rBGH-free labeling currently taking place around the country. Out of consumer fear of what’s in the milk, dairies are beginning to label when their products do not contain rBGH. Monsanto claims it’s libel and misleading to say something is rBGH-free, implying that the synthetic hormones are bad. (Aren’t they?) What about all those “Fat-Free,” “Low-Carb,” “High Fiber,” “Low-Sodium” labeling that is smacked on just about every box, can and bag at the grocery? Aren’t those misleading? Implying they are healthy (or more healthy), when in fact they are still packed with so much other junk they’re horrible for you.
But no worries, there is hope. Head over to Sustainable Table’s Issues pages on rBGH, www.sustainabletable.org/issues/rbgh to learn more and find out what you can do to take action.
Keep posted for information when my pages on the U.S. Dairy Industry, Raw Milk and Hormone go live!
Sincerely,
Stacey, NYC Milkmaid
Clotted cream, or Devonshire Cream, is an all time favorite in this household. Forget a simple scone (and tea time for that matter), we’ll smear it onto cinnamon raisin toast, a hearty whole wheat soda bread, and just about any cracker-like formation at any time of the day. The biggest problem I have finding it, even in New York City, is that the good stuff (ie that imported from Devon, England) is hard to come by and fairly expensive for a mere 1-6 ounces. While high quality heavy cream isn’t that much cheaper, the taste of this homemade version is world’s better than any clotted cream I have been able to get my hands on State-side.
Clotted cream is similar to butter in that the fat content of the cream clots (hence clotted cream), but varies in that it is heated low and slow for several hours to bring the clots to the surface, rather than butter, which is agitated to form clots. The result is a slightly sweet and luxuriously smooth butter-like cream substance, or simply, clotted cream. It remains creamy when cold, though will still melt when smeared onto warm toast.
This super rich version is made with heavy cream from jersey cows (the cow breed, not the state). Many believe the higher the fat content of the cream you start with, the better your results. Do not attempt to make this with low-fat or ultra-pasteurized creams (remember: you need fat for this product!). Although a good quality organic full fat heavy cream (or whipping cream) will do, pasture-fed cows will produce the best quality clotted cream with a taste that will change with the seasons.
Brits will tell you clotted cream is best on scones at high tea, but I recommend you try it whenever the mood fits.
NOTE: Don’t let the long cook time throw you from making this recipe. It’s all undisturbed low-heat cooking followed by a night in the fridge.
Clotted Cream
Makes about 1.5 cups. Active time= about 10 minutes. Inactive time= 10 hours plus overnight.
2 cups heavy cream (raw cream or a good quality full-fat organic)1) Preheat oven to 180 F. (This might just be a setting called “warm.”)
2) Place heavy cream in a heavy bottom ceramic, cast iron or enamel pot, about 8 inches by 13 inches. (You want to keep the cream shallow, but not so shallow it burns, 1-3 inches up the side is good.) Cover the pot and place in the center rack of the oven. Leave undisturbed 8-10 hours, until a dark yellow crust has formed on top of the cream.
3) Uncover and allow the cream to cool. Recover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
4) Using a spatula, pull the clotted cream from the dish and transfer to a storage container. Use leftover cream in baking applications. Use clotted cream in 4-5 days.
When I was young I had a book by Steven Kroll called, That Makes Me Mad! about a young girl, Nina, enraged with the world around her. You follow Nina through her pains: when she’s told “something delicious” is for dinner and it turns out to be her least favorite dish, it makes her mad. When her newborn brother gets more attention, it makes her mad. When adults ignore her wonderful attempts at attention, it makes her mad.
Basically, none of us want to be lied to or ignored. It’s something I think many of us have forgotten today.
I remember this book was one of my favorites and I distinctly remember toting it around in the car on trips. To this day when things make me mad I think of little angry Nina. I have mentioned the book to others, but no one else seems to have read it. Sometimes I think I should make the grown up version of this book, but maybe that would be too depressing.
If I did write it, a few pages of my adult That Makes Me Mad! would cover rising food prices, global warming/ the environmental crisis, and other current chatter– That Makes Me Mad!
D forwarded me this article from CounterPunch about rice shortages in Haiti and how the country could once feed itself– before the U.S. stepped in to “help.” It’s happened in other countries and well, That Makes Me Mad! The scenario often goes something like this:
Open trade borders
Artificially low-priced U.S. crops filter into country
Local farmers are driven out of business and move to cities
City populations grow
Joblessness and poverty increases and quality of life is reduced
Corporations move in to “make use” of once used farmland; Build polluting industry; Pollute the land and hire unskilled workers on the cheap (ie ex-farmers– who more often than not are not allowed to unionize)
Countries become “civilized” through industrialization
Land is destroyed and made toxic and we once again distance our understanding of sustainable land use
When is the U.S. going to stop subsidizing mono-cultures, ultimately artificially lowering prices on single commodities, like sugar, rice and corn, and put their money where it actually helps?! Subsidize items like corn and you create a huge surplus. (Because hey, if I’m a struggling farmer trying to make it, I’m going to grow whatever the government is paying big bucks for.) What to do with a huge corn surplus? Export it at prices other countries cannot compete with, turn it into high fructose corn syrup, figure out how to feed it to livestock, put more oil into it than it actually produces to make ethanol, and in general filter it into just about every processed food made, creating obesity throughout the land and making the health care industry (with funding from big Ag) a happy camper.
All of this make me very, very mad!
How about sustainable agriculture methods? Make organic fruits and vegetables more affordable for people– not corn syrup! But as so many people say, I guess the poor broccoli has no multi-million dollar spending lobbyist in Washington fighting for it, huh? I created this one, above right, for the purpose.
So it all seems really big and unbearable, right? Rather than change a light bulb, why not support a local sustainable farmer? Join a Community Supported Agriculture program (their prices are often less than non-organic prices at conventional supermarkets). Or here is another option: Don’t support Big Ag (not because you don’t want to support farmers, but you want to change where subsidies go!)! Read labels on products you buy, stay away from high fructose corn syrup, and in general, ingredients you can’t pronounce or don’t know how they are grown or produced– soy lecithin, not a soybean.